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The red-hot Calgary Hitmen didn’t check into their Edmonton hotel room until after 3 a.m. Saturday for a crucial first-place showdown that started 11 hours later.

They grabbed a few winks of shut-eye and then two massive points at Rexall Place.

Starting goaltender Chris Driedger made 38 saves as the Hitmen (43-15-7) beat the Oil Kings 3-2 to move two points clear of the Edmonton club atop the WHL’s Eastern Conference standings.

Hitmen bench boss Mike Williamson says he was impressed with how his squad handled the short turnaround after beating the Kamloops Blazers 5-1 at the Dome on Saturday night.

“I was very proud of the way the group played,” Williamson said. “We got checked in at about 3:15 in the morning.

“So to rouse them out of bed and get down to the rink for a 2 p.m. game wasn’t easy.

“But our group was excited about the opportunity and the challenge. We hadn’t played well against Edmonton previously, and we wanted to make sure we were a lot better.”

Edmonton Oilers prospect Greg Chase put in his application for future employment at Rexall Place on Saturday by assisting on every Hitmen goal, while linemate Brady Brassart extended his point streak to 15 games.

But it was Driedger who stood tall in the third period when the well-rested Oil Kings outshot the visitors 23-9.

“Chris played very well,” Williamson said. “We didn’t give up a ton (of chances) in the first half, and then they got some good looks, and Driedgs was exceptional.”

Edgars Kulda and Calgary product Mitch Moroz replied for the Oil Kings, who have won just two of their last seven home tilts but still hold a pair of games in hand on the Hitmen.

Moroz says he saw signs of his team getting back on the same page, but they ran out of time.

“We’re just trying to stay positive in the room because we’ve done a lot of good things this year, and that third period was pure dominance on our part,” Moroz said.” If we do that for 60 minutes, we’re going to win every game.”

The Hitmen took the lead only 2:26 into the game, when Peterson tucked home a rebound from the doorstep after the Oil Kings had failed to clear the puck.

Five minutes later, the visitors went ahead 2-0 on another defensive breakdown by the hosts, allowing Rankin to get open and backhand a shot past Oil Kings goalie Tristan Jarry.

The Oil Kings cut the Hitmen lead in half 1:50 into the second, when Latvian Kulda scored for the third straight game and sixth time in the last eight, with a big assist going to Henrik Samuelsson, who created the scoring opportunity by winning the puck in the half-wall and throwing it on net.

Helgesen tallied on the powerplay just past the midway point for the eventual game-winner.